Sandcastles
by PrinRue
Summary: Little Mabel and Dipper are making the best sandcastle ever. But even when things don't go as planned, it'll all be fine when you're with the people you love. Young Pines twins; H/C; fluff!


**Hello friends! I'm back after a while with a new GF oneshot! And I'm back to my roots with young Pines twins fluff, too! **

**In this one, our favorite family is spending some time at the beach, and things don't go as planned... but in the end, it may not be such a bad thing. **

**Enjoy!**

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There's always been something about the ocean, something inviting and fun, that humans have been drawn to since the beginning of time.

The Pines family was no exception, and they were lucky enough to live only a short trip from it. So, for as long as she could remember, Mabel had loved visiting the ocean. Maybe it was the wind that blew salty smelling air over the coast. Maybe it was the waves that were fun to splash and jump in. Maybe it was the sand that you could mold into shapes when it was wet. Maybe it was all of that. But it was undeniable; the beach held good memories for the five year old.

It was also fun for her brother. He was a bit more hesitant to play in the water than his sister, but seeing her happy always made him happy. And, boy, was she happy when the family car pulled into a lot along the dunes.

As soon as the parents had gathered all their beach equipment from the trunk, the twins were sprinting toward the water, their flip-flop covered feet sliding sideways in the burning sand. Mabel immediately plopped down at the water's edge, scooping a big armful of saturated sand toward her.

"Wait up, Mabel! Mom and Dad still have the buckets and shovels!" Dipper called to her from a ways down the shore.

"Can you get it? I don't want anybody else stealing our spot!" Mabel called back. "I'm gonna make the coolest sandcastle here! Daddy taught me how."

"Okay, fine." The boy turned back and raced to where his parents were setting up their blanket and umbrella. He quickly grabbed their small plastic shovels and bucket, then ran back to his sister.

"I got a lotta sand ready!" She said once Dipper was seated on the shore next to her. "Gimme the bucket!" As soon as she had it, she pressed the item over the big mound of wet sand as hard as she could, then pulled it off, pleased by the compact shape it left behind.

"Now we hafta decorate it," Dipper said.

"Hmmm… look at that shell!" Mabel pointed a couple feet away. Dipper picked it up, examining it. It was a little broken on one side, but still really pretty. He promptly stuck the shell to the side of the castle, then continued looking around.

"Oh, and that stick can be a flagpole!"

"And those rocks can be windows!"

"And that seaweed can be the flag!"

The twins continued working for a few more minutes, before pulling back to admire their creation. With its three floors of windows, shell emblem, and flag on top, it truly was a masterpiece.

"I'm gonna go get Mommy and Daddy! They gotta see this sandcastle!" Mabel exclaimed, jumping to her feet and running excitedly toward the parents.

Dipper watched his sister run off, then turned back to the castle, smoothing out any loose sand. That's when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. The five year old glanced over to see another boy standing there, who looked to be about twice his age. Dipper just went back to work, not giving it a second thought.

"What're you doing?" The kid asked, his tone clearly mocking, but Dipper failed to pick up on it.

"Just finishing this sandcastle." Dipper responded, not taking his focus off the formation. "Me and my sister made it. I'm waiting for her to get back."

The other boy laughed. "I don't care about that, idiot."

"That's not a very nice thing to say," Dipper commented without thinking, garnering another laugh. Finally, the younger boy looked up at his aggressor. "Why're you laughing? It's not funny."

The kid stopped, leaning closer. "Who are you to tell me what I can and can't laugh at?"

Dipper turned away, looking down at the ground.

"Hey, I asked you a question!" The older boy poked Dipper's shoulder.

"Leave me alone." Dipper pulled his knees to his chest, still looking at the sand.

"Fine. Be like that." With a swift kick, the kid destroyed all the twins' hard work.

And that was when another, much louder yell came from behind them.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing!" Both boys swiveled around to see Mabel running at them, full speed, with the parents not that far behind her. At the sight, the older boy's face went pale, and he took off running. Mabel began to sprint after him as fast as her small legs could carry her, only for her father to yell at her to let him go. She didn't want to, oh boy, not after seeing him kick their sandcastle. But now she saw why he yelled at her to stop. Dipper was sitting by the ruins, curled up into himself. Sandcastle forgotten, Mabel changed course for her brother.

"Dipper, what's wrong?" She asked breathlessly, falling to her knees beside him.

"Nothing." The boy sniffed. "People are mean."

Mabel stuck out her lip in concern, unsure of what to do to help her twin feel better. Two more pairs of footsteps came up behind the kids, and Mabel turned to see her parents had caught up to them.

"Is Dipper alright?" Mrs. Pines asked her, getting a head shake in response. The mother kneeled down and pulled her son into a hug. "It's okay, honey. What happened? We saw that boy kick your sandcastle. Did he hurt you?"

"That doesn't matter. He ruined the castle. After Mabel worked so hard on it…"

Mabel's heart broke a little. Dipper clearly was upset, but he only cared about the sandcastle and how Mabel would feel about it being destroyed. Why would he think his own feelings didn't matter?

"Dippy… we can rebuild the castle easy," Mabel said. "We can't rebuild you."

Dipper hugged his mom a little tighter, then pulled away and wiped his eyes. "It's okay, Mabel. That boy is just a meanie. I have you, and that's all I need."

Mabel swiftly tackled her brother in a hug, squeezing him close. "Me too."

"Now how 'bout we rebuild that castle?"

"And we'll make it even better than before!"

"Mom? Dad? Do you wanna help us?"

Mr. and Mrs. Pines smiled, scooting closer to their kids in response.

So it went, the family working together to reshape the mound of sand. They made it bigger, with three different towers, and all the shells and flags they could find. It took all evening, but none of the Pines cared. Because once it was finished, their sandcastle was the most amazing one on the beach.

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**There's really no point to this story, it's just a cute little plot bunny I had... hope you all still liked it!**

**Stay tuned for a special Pines twins birthday fic on the 31st!**


End file.
